Tag Archives: bokeh

There is a first for everything, and this week was a feast of firsts. For starters, this week was the first time that I didn’t post within my weekly deadline. After a busy weekend when it came time to write my post on Sunday night, I couldn’t resist collapsing face down on my plush tempurpedic. Other than my latent post, this week also marked the first time that my post’s picture was shot with something other than my Nikon 35mm f/1.8 lens. I still shot my picture at ~35mm but this time it was with a new Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8. I had been tussling with whether or not to buy a new lens for a couple of weeks. Last week I was finally able to validate purchasing a new lens. One of my stocks recently started to take a hit so I decided to cut bait and divert those funds to the investment of a new lens. Hopefully the lens will pay better dividends.

The last two “firsts” worth noting are locations based. This week was the first time that I visited Washington Square park and the nearby Stumptown coffee shop. I’ve been to the Stumptown on 29th street a few times but never the second and smaller location by Washington Square park. It was nice finally checking out the park even if it wasn’t the best time of the day for pictures. The sun was at about 45 degrees and blindingly bright. After walking around the park for a few minutes with my friend that tagged along we decidle split off from one another so we could each focus on finding the best shot. As I moved away from the park’s iconic arch I found a couple ways to use to the sun’s harsh angle. One was to shoot some reflection pictures using the wet ground. The second idea I had was to line the sun up within the street lights that littered the park so it looked like they were glowing in the daylight. Although both were fun ideas, they quickly grew old so I decided to find my friend and search for a better location.

Washington Square Park Light Post

With sunset approaching we decided to head to Wagner Park located at the southern tip of Manhattan. I shot at that location once before during week 16 but since it provides great sunsets, I knew there was no harm in taking a return visit.

While on our way south we seemingly stopped every couple of feet to take pictures. Since the purpose of our trip was to take pictures, frequently stopping wasn’t a problem, but it was threatening our chances of getting to the park at the right time. Eventually we decided to jump on the 1 train to expedite our journey.

Once we got out of the subway we made a beeline towards the park. When we finally cleared the tall buildings of the financial district, I yelled out “boomshakalaka” in excitement once I saw the beautiful evening sky. For the next hour or so my friend and I were treated to one of the better sunsets I’ve seen in a while. We both shuffled around the park trying to find the best shot. I eventually spotted a patch of tall grass which provided me with a good foreground subject and sealed the deal for this week’s picture.

Photography concepts:

Since this week is the first time shooting with my new Sigma lens it makes sense for me to talk about some of the advantages it provides. One of the advantages which benefited this week’s picture is the Sigma’s nice bokeh. As I talked about last week, bokeh is the part of the picture that’s out of focus. One thing I recently learned is that with nicer lenses the bokeh is smoother and although it’s a little bit of an oxymoron, the out of focus images are sharper. The nice bokeh worked well for creating silhouettes of the lamp post, railing and couple walking.

Another advantage the Sigma has is a low fixed aperture of f/2.8. Although the Sigma doesn’t beat my Nikon 35mm’s f/1.8 aperture it’s still large enough to make shooting indoor and night pictures easier. The Nikon beats the Sigma aperture but the Sigma has a 4-stop Anti-Shake feature which allows for slower shutter speeds. This means that although the Nikon can let in more light via a wider aperture, the Sigma can let in more light via slower shutters (without using tripods). The term 4-stops means I can go 4 stops lower than the recommended shutter speed for a specific focal length. When shooting at 35mm (52 with a crop sensor) it’s recommended that I stay at or above 1/100 of a second. Thanks to the anti-shake feature I can hit a shutter speed of 1/40 of a second, and possibly slower if I have any added stabilization. This is a moot point if you’re using a tripod but it’s very relevant when you’re shooting indoors or at night.

The last advantage I’ll quickly mention because it’s not one that can help me during my 52from52 photoblog series is that the Sigma is a zoom. The advantage of having a zoom lens is pretty obvious. With a zoom you’re able to recompose your picture without moving and hit targets that a 35mm prime can’t. Because it’s a zoom I might use my Sigma again in some upcoming posts, not to shoot my picture from another focal length, but so that I have some flexibility for the pictures not meant for this blog. The Sigma’s focal length range 17-50mm ( ~25-75mm) is very versatile. The lens moves from wide angle to a nice focal length for taking pictures of people, especially when I can maintain a f/2.8 aperture. The possibilities this lens has is exciting so stay tuned!

Like many people my age, on a usual Saturday night there is a good chance you’ll find me out at a bar with friends. This past Saturday night however was not my usual evening. This weekend was different because I was providing 24/7 support for work. Working in IT has it’s perks but it also occasionally carries some unique responsibilities, one of those being support coverage. This weekend was the first time I held this role in a long time and it’s not one that I take lightly. While covering support I need to maintain my wits and have a quick response time if I get any calls, therefor going out to a bar isn’t on my social menu.

Original “accidental” picture

Coincidentally this weekend the newest season of “House of Cards” released on Netflix so that provided the perfect means to pass my Saturday night. Though I had a good TV binge in the queue, I decided to pop outside for a little with my camera. Earlier in the week I took a picture which I planned to use as this week’s post. My goal for Saturday night’s picture hunt was to try my hand at recreating and or improving my previous picture. The original picture was shot on Washington street and was more of an accident than a planned image. When you’re attempting to take a picture in the middle of the street you can imagine how one might feel rushed. It could be the possibility of getting hit, or just the fact that people gaze upon you like you’re crazy. Regardless of the reason, while shooting my original picture from the middle of the street I felt rushed and thus fired off some quick pictures, a few of which were not in focus. After reviewing the unfocused batch of pictures, I actually liked the way the blurred imaged looked. Fast forward to Saturday night, my goal was to not leave this round of pictures to chance. My plan was to use the manual focus of my camera to create a “controlled” blurred image.

My chosen spot was at the corner of 13th/Washington. As I stood at the corner waiting for the light to turn red, I fiddled with my focus to get a blurry but clear enough to see image. During one of my practice pictures I accidently got a taxi in frame which triggered the idea of creating an picture that represented how I usually recall Saturday nights. I waited a couple of light cycles until again having a taxi staged for the picture. Once the light turned red I darted out into the street and captured this week’s image.

Photography concepts:

The more I learn about my camera, the more artistic freedom I have to create the images that are in my head. Although this week’s picture wasn’t an exact representation of what I mentally saw, it was close. This is the first time I used manual focus for a featured post and I’m happy with the result. Manual focus gives you the freedom to choose the exact focus you want rather than relying upon the camera to make the decision. It would have been nearly impossible to shoot this picture if I only relied on my camera for focusing. When in autofocus mode your camera needs to focus on something in order to shoot. There is a setting to override requiring focus but it’s easier to put your camera in manual. Putting your camera in manual focus allows you to take a picture no matter what the focus is, blurry or razor sharp. The reason I wanted to achieve an out of focus image was because of the effect it creates. The effect that results from images being out of focused is often referred to as “bokeh.” Most of the time bokeh is used to create separation in a picture between the subject and background. The intensity of the bokeh usually increases as your aperture gets larger. This technique is used a lot in portraits such as head shots. In my picture instead of focusing on one subject and blurring out everything else, I blurred out the entire image. I wanted to use the blurriness to create a sense of disorientation from looking at the picture. I also wanted to use the blurry lights to create the composition of my image in the form of leading lines. All of the lights are pinched inward to pull your focus onto the blurred out taxi. The leading line composition was meant to represent the usual progression of a saturday night, increased blurring over time and ending in a taxi.

As you can see by applying some of the lessons that I’ve learned, I was able to create the image that I wanted. Of course some chance was involved this week, but the lesson to take away is that once you start to build your photography toolbox it’s important you know what concept to take out or apply to achieve the image you’re going for. Your creativity will always be limited to the speed that you’re able to think of your feet and apply your knowledge.